In the last week or so, four global payment companies have announced that they have raised new funds, highlighting the interest from investors in the sector. We take a look at how each company is developing.

Key funding rounds for cross-border payments companies in January 2021

PPRO funding round

PPRO is a B2B company that provides local payments infrastructure globally. According to PPRO, the funding will go towards the continued global expansion and the development of its payment technology.

• Revenues in 2019 were $44.1m, a slight increase over the previous year’s $43.3m. In 2019, PPRO restructured, which led to a dip of $14.4m in operating losses (in 2018, operating profit was $0.1m).
• According to PPRO, the company doubled its year-on-year transaction volumes in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Curve funding round

Curve is a B2C business that combines multiple cards and accounts into one card and app. The company plans to use its new funds to expand to the US market and launch a new product, Curve Credit, in 2021.

• Curve’s revenues in 2019 amounted to $8.1m, almost double the $4.1m in 2018. However, operating losses more than quadrupled from $8.9m in 2018 to $39.0m in 2019, which according to Curve is the result of significant investments in its people and products.
• In 2020, Curve partnered with Checkout.com to deliver all acquiring services and currently claims to have over 2 million customers.

Rapyd funding round

Rapyd is a B2B player enabling merchants, platforms, banks to move away from old infrastructure and create new, mobile-friendly solutions to integrate local payment capabilities. The company intends to use the funding to grow the team, expand fraud ID services and onboarding capabilities.

• Following the acquisition of card acquirer Korta in 2020, Rapyd is now on the hunt for more strategic acquisitions. Rapyd currently services over 5,000 customers.
• According to its CEO Arik Shtilman, Rapyd had no plans to raise money but the pandemic boosted its growth plans for 2021 which were achieved in three months of 2020 although few financials are available or reported for Rapyd.

Checkout.com funding round

Checkout.com is a B2B company processing digital payments in multiple currencies for merchants, banks and fintech groups. 

• The company valuation nearly tripled to $15bn (processed volumes tripled in 2020), after being valued at $5.5bn in June 2020 for its series B round.
• EBITDA is reported as double digit millions on substantial nine figure revenues. 

While the global pandemic has hindered a lot of businesses, it had also shifted most commerce online, resulting in the rapid growth of e-commerce companies. Processing businesses, particularly those facilitating online purchases, have proved to be fundamental in this environment and have largely benefited. Checkout.com’s rapid rise illustrates the growth of the industry as companies process more sales online during the Covid-19 crisis.

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Cristina Puscas

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Cristina is an Associate Product Manager at FXC Intelligence. She focuses on the key trends driving global payments such as the emergence of mobile money and mobile wallets the increasing use of dynamic pricing. Before joining FXC Intelligence, Cristina worked at a research consultancy. Cristina has a degree in Economics and Business from University College London.